Lily found herself buckling under the pressure and wishing she was anywhere but here right now. She needed a good excuse that wouldn't reveal Arakil, but she felt she was grasping at straws.

"I want to use it to make ink!" Lily eventually blurted out. It was a shot in the dark, a little truth to hide the full answer.

"Oh?" Camilla replied, her eyes widening in genuine surprise. Rather than further questioning, she paused and seemed deep in thought.

Did she buy it? Lily wondered and hoped.

The wait felt like an eternity for Lily, and she began weighing her options. Should she run away? Make up some lie? Thankfully, she didn't need to resort to either of those, as Camilla actually smiled and let out a small, soft chuckle.

"Fascinating!" Camilla proclaimed.

Lily swallowed a mouthful of nothing, her throat feeling like sand, before replying. "Fascinating?"

"Yes. Truly fascinating," Camilla repeated. "I originally suspected you'd gotten into trouble like some wizard dropout had bribed you. But to think you wanted to make ink. Well, that truly changes things."

"It does?" Lily asked nervously.

"Quite. I'd need to consult one of my old books, but I vaguely recall plants comparable to Fairymoss being used for such things," Camilla paused to think, then continued. "Actually... I think it was in one of my history books; I don't think the practice has been used for a century at least."

"Why's that?" Lily asked inquisitively. Abruptly realizing she was over-eager, she hastily closed her mouth, causing her teeth to clink.

"Good! I like curious students," Camilla praised, to Lily's surprise. "The answer, of course, is blood! Why go through all that effort of refining plants to make an inferior product, especially one not keyed to the owner."

"Sorry... I don't think I understand," Lily interrupted to ask her question. "What do you mean by keyed?"

"Oh? Was I wrong with my theory?" Camilla asked rhetorically, tapping her finger against her lip. "I thought for sure you were trying to make glyph ink."

Lily gulped. And if that wasn't bad enough, her shocked face further betrayed her.

Camilla smiled. "So I was right."

"Uhh... Umm..." Lily stammered, trying to think of an excuse.

"Stop fretting your adorable little head off, girl; I don't see what you're so scared of," Camilla responded, wagging a finger. "At least now I actually know you're genuine with your interest here, and I know what areas to focus on."

"Y-you mean you'll still teach me?" Lily asked, dumbfounded.

"Of course. Did I ever say otherwise?" Camilla asked, looking taken aback. "I apologize if I accidentally gave you that impression. I have no reason to turn down a proven hard worker and someone with a thirst for knowledge. Assuming you do still want to work for this crazy old lady?"

"Y-yes!" Lily stammered out while nodding, her ears flopping wildly.

"Good. Because I genuinely need someone to replace my labels, and I'm very impressed with your penmanship," Camilla praised, then, having a sudden epiphany, continued talking. "I suppose that's why your handwriting is so neat... You were practicing glyphs while doing scribe work... Clever..."

Lily wasn't sure whether to confirm or deny that and instead chose to remain silent.

"Now, I'm more than happy to teach you basic apothecary work, including processing ingredients, and I'll even scour through my book collection to see if I can find any notes on glyph ink. But I can't and won't help you with any glyph business."

"Is it forbidden?" Lily asked.

"Heavens no. I just have no clue or interest in it," Camilla answered; the bluntness of her response caught Lily off guard.

"Oh."

"I never liked working with blood. I practically failed the class because of that," Camilla chuckled at her own expense. "Although I will say, while I find your enthusiasm admirable, I wonder if you aren't setting yourself up for disappointment. Glyph ink was abandoned for a reason."

"Because it can't be keyed?" Lily asked before quickly adding. "Whatever that is..."

"Ah. You did ask previously, and I skipped over answering in my excitement," Camilla said somewhat sheepishly. "It means only the blood's owner can use it. You make a glyph from your blood; only you can activate or use it. Imagine stealing someone's sword and using it against them. Now imagine the same sword, but only the owner can remove the blade from the sheath."

Lily nodded. "I see. And magic would make that dangerous."

"Precisely. But if that was not enough, blood is just far more potent. I'd bet one or two drops of blood mixed into any regular ink would probably outdo this entire herb," Camilla answered, pointing at the Fairymoss.

"Oh... But what about the demis who don't have Mana?" Lily asked.

"What about them?" Camilla answered, almost shrugging. "They have powerful bodies; why go against the natural order? A fish doesn't try to fly. Even if they didn't want to use their strength to fight, they had plenty of other opportunities. No reason to struggle in vain like that. Why, you'd need to be truly desperate-"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Lily frowned, looking extremely dejected while Camilla spoke. The gloom festered the deeper Camilla went on her tirade. Lily wasn't on the verge of tears, but hearing it so bluntly was definitely a gut punch to her self-esteem.

Camilla thankfully noticed the social cues in time to stop herself; she coughed and cleared her throat before choosing her words.

"Mmm... Yes. I apologize for... Rambling. But to summarize, glyph ink has its limits, while blood is both superior and easier. I hope that answers the question."

Lily nodded.

It's fine. Arakil promised. She reassured herself.

"Anyway. It's looking like I'm not going to have any customers today. So why don't I close up the shop early, make us some tea, and I'll give you a small lesson?" Camilla offered, feeling a little guilty.

Lily nodded. "Yes, please."

***

Despite the initial interrogation and the harsh dose of reality, the rest of Lily's time with Camilla was surprisingly pleasant. Camilla's shop must have granted her access to some exquisite teas, as Lily had never tasted any so flavourful and delicious.

The lesson was just a few basics, mostly a discussion about Lily's herbs, accompanied by a lesson on properly cleaning them for usage or storage.

Following that, there was a brief discussion about the various tools, such as the mortar and pestle, and, to Lily's surprise, various weights and scales. Camilla explained that for the best results, precise measurements were needed to avoid an inferior product or, at worst, a mishap.

Why does it seem to always lead back to math? Lily grumbled to herself.

The most interesting tool was a small enchanted box Camilla used to dry herbs expediently. Seeing Lily fascinated with it, Camilla couldn't help but brag a little about it.

"I bought this on a whim to replace my old smokebox, and I've frankly never looked back ever since!" Camilla boasted. "I bet if I was still using the smokebox, I'd have burnt my shop down; the damn thing was a fire hazard waiting to happen!"

Unfortunately, Lily didn't have Mana, so she couldn't activate the enchanted box herself and had to settle for watching Camilla demonstrate. Even without being able to experience it herself, she was still fascinated by the display, although she was a little disheartened that Camilla couldn't explain how it worked.

While Lily would have loved to have discussed converting the Fairymoss into ink, Camilla was truthful in that she would need time to search her books and notes before attempting anything.

While Fairymoss wasn't too hard to purchase, Camilla still didn't want to waste it, and Lily easily agreed. After all, she still needed to procure extras for Arakil to absorb.

When it came to dealing with Lily's basket of herbs, she initially asked for them all to be exchanged for Fairymoss. Camilla somewhat agreed, giving her a few but insisting that some be exchanged for coins.

"What if you need to buy something? Trust me, you'll be glad to have some savings available to dip into," Camilla reasoned. "At the very least, you'll probably need to purchase ink."

Likewise, when the discussion of Lily's salary came up, Camilla insisted that it be handed with money.

"I'm not paying someone in herbs; I'll have the tax officers kicking down my door!" Camilla argued. "If you're that desperate, you can purchase Fairymoss with your wages afterward. Also, I'll say this upfront, but there will be some deductions for materials used in your lessons."

After some convincing, it sounded reasonable to Lily. Camilla even mentioned that her successes could be sold at the store if they met the standards. That offer blew Lily's mind and brought her some much-needed positivity.

When it was time to leave, Lily made a small request to stop at a shop on the way home to buy some ink. She had expected to maybe need to beg and plead a bit, but Camilla was more than happy to. After all, she wanted Lily to see the value in money.

When they reached the orphanage gate, Lily bowed to Camilla. Her hands clutched her basket, which now contained two new ink pots and some Fairymoss, both fresh and dried.

"Thank you so much, Miss Camilla!" Lily said enthusiastically.

"You're welcome, my dear," Camilla responded fondly. "Now run along before you're late for supper, and don't stay up too late! I want you fresh for tomorrow's lessons."

"Okay, bye-bye!" Lily replied, giving a small wave.

Camilla reciprocated the wave and slowly continued her walk to her home, chuckling softly to herself about the strange turn of events.

***

[Sounds like a very fortunate encounter, all things considered.]

"Yes, it must have been my lucky day," Lily responded rather happily.

Arakil wanted to scoff at that - as a self-proclaimed enemy of luck - but held back.

Lily had spent quite some time explaining her day's events and what she had arranged for herself. Honestly, it was far beyond what he could have imagined. While the revelation of glyph ink didn't surprise him, the fact that it was abandoned did.

Does nobody fight against fate anymore? If I were a Daoist, I'd be vomiting blood. Arakil thought bitterly.

Still, I'd certainly say this turn of events was extremely surprising. Perhaps Lily has a good affinity with luck? It'd certainly be an ironic twist of fate for my apprentice to be blessed by fortune. The superstitious do say that rabbits are lucky, or...was that only their feet?

Arakil was surprised when Lily brought back both fresh and dried Fairymoss, and he had sung her praise for her smart thinking. The difference was thankfully minuscule, so he told her to prioritize drying it in the future in case of a far greater Mana loss due to spoilage.

I hate the name, though, Fairymoss. He wanted to spit. Why would you name anything useful after those damnable fairies?

And even though he wanted as much Fairymoss as he could fit between his pages, he also agreed with Camilla's decision to handle things with money. After all, they might outgrow the plant's usefulness, and having a reserve of funds has always been practical.

I miss my dimensional pockets. I want to hope they've survived the test of time, but the reality is likely bleak.

"Do you think Miss Camilla was telling the truth about glyph ink?" Lily asked.

[Yes. However, I'd say that she could simply be misinformed. Without some at our disposal, it's impossible to determine. Perhaps they got the formula wrong? Or were their inscriptions shoddy? A few possibilities explain why they chose the path of least resistance instead.]

"I see... I'm glad," Lily said. Her resolve was moderately refortified.

[Besides, even in the worst-case scenario where the ink is inadequate, I always intended for this to be an interim solution. While the knowledge of glyphs and inscriptions will forever be valuable, our goal is to grant you Mana.]

"Yes!" Lily responded, joy evident in her tone.

Once again, Arakil was glad that it seemed relatively simple to cheer up the girl with the temptations of magic.

After briefly pausing, Lily asked a question that had been bugging her. "You mention inscriptions, but Rose and Miss Camilla mentioned glyphs. What's the difference?"

[I'm glad you asked! While individuals use them interchangeably depending on their nomenclature, the truth of the matter is that a collection of glyphs is called an inscription. The shield inscription I gave you is actually composed of three glyphs.]

"Really? I thought you said it was a basic shield spell?" Lily asked suspiciously. "Three glyphs doesn't sound basic..."

[The first glyph controls the protective shield and is the primary glyph. The second glyph reflects the impact, which can be useful to redirect any explosive force or counter a melee attacker. The third glyph hides the barrier to catch the assailant unexpectedly. Simple and basic, yes?]

Arakil felt some pride in defending his work, hoping it would put any doubts in Lily's mind to rest. It was, after all, a rather straightforward inscription with what he would consider the bare minimums.

Lily didn't immediately respond, perhaps letting his lesson sink in. However, when she finally did speak up, he wasn't sure whether to be upset or proud.

"Does that mean it would be cheaper and simpler if I used only the first glyph?"